


Chemistry

by xserpx



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Luke's Smile Appreciation, PSA: Brush Your Teeth After Reading, Pre-Relationship, Songwriting, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, they're just so passionate about music and each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27565024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xserpx/pseuds/xserpx
Summary: Julie's all settled in for a long night of chemistry homework when she gets some unexpected help.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 7
Kudos: 203





	Chemistry

It was a quiet evening when Julie sauntered upstairs to her room, feeling happy and content after the delicious dinner Tía Victoria had made for them. For the first time in a while it seemed like the boys were taking the night to themselves, which was fine by her since she had a science test in the morning that she still needed to study for. She could hear her Dad, Reggie, and Carlos watching one of the original Star Wars movies together in the living room. Alex was out on a date with Willie, as much as he bashfully tried to insist that that wasn't what it was. And Luke was presumably out in the garage writing songs.

Julie sat down at the desk and plugged her headphones into her phone, bringing up her usual study playlist with its lo-fi beats that were meant to help her focus. Then she opened her chemistry textbook and started taking notes, feeling good about the fact she might have finally mastered the whole responsible student thing.

Quarter of an hour later, however, she wasn't quite so confident. Chemistry had always been one of her least favorite subjects, and despite her best efforts her mind kept helplessly wandering to Luke. She imagined him out in the garage, strumming away at his six-string with that brooding, serious look he got whenever he was thinking hard about lyrics, pouring his heart out onto a blank page. What she wouldn't give to join him out there, losing herself in the music and his vibrant energy. She was starting to really like the way she felt whenever he looked at her, especially when they sang together... Then she realised she was grinning to herself so broadly her cheeks hurt, and forced herself to stop.

"Get it together…" she muttered, kneading at her forehead. "Chemistry test, remember?"

But the only chemistry she really wanted to study was the chemistry between her and Luke…

" _JULIE!_ "

A loud yell cut through the music, making her jump. "What…?" She tugged her headphones down and turned in her seat, heart pounding at the shock of being interrupted, only to find Luke standing by the bed with his hands cupped around his mouth, now singing her name as loudly as he could.

"Juuuuulieeeeee!"

"Oh my gosh, _Luke!_ " She said, trying to sound annoyed even though she mostly just felt embarrassed about not having noticed him poof in. Had he heard her talking to herself?

"Sorry," he said, with an apologetic shrug. "I didn't know how else to get your attention."

"That's OK," she sighed, snapping the lid onto her pen and putting her hands on her knees. She had to remind herself there was no way her Dad or Carlos could have heard him shout. "What do you want?"

Luke's eyes immediately brightened, and he became even more animated, crossing the room to join her at the desk. "OK, so I found this _incredible_ riff you _have_ to hear. With your voice and Reggie coming in with his killer bass, I just know this one has the potential to be a _massive_ hit…"

Julie hesitated. She really loved how passionate Luke was about music. It was his reason for existing, after all, and he was so unbelievably talented and supportive of her and all his bandmates, and it wasn't that she didn't want to listen to whatever it was he'd come up with... But the chemistry test was looming, and the fact was she _needed_ to spend this time studying. She couldn't let him distract her, no matter how much both of them wanted to be out in the garage.

Luke read her expression, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. Julie already felt bad for having to say no, even though she hadn't actually said it yet.

"Luke…"

"No, no…" he said. "You're studying. I get it." And he did, she could tell. It just didn't make him any less disappointed.

"The moment I'm finished here, I'll come out and listen to you play," she said. "I _promise_."

He nodded, then looked down at her books. "Chemistry?"

She unenthusiastically flicked over a few pages. "Chemistry. Definitely not my best subject. _And_ I have a big test tomorrow, which I should have studied for already, but I was having too much fun practicing with you guys to do it yesterday. And, to make it all worse, my head feels like a sieve right now. Dad says if my grade slips I won't be able to go to any more gigs, but if I don't study now I'm _definitely_ gonna fail."

Luke sat on the desk beside her, gazing down at all the notes and flashcards she'd made. He chewed at his bottom lip, while Julie flopped back in her chair and rubbed at her tired eyes.

Then she noticed Luke had started nodding his head and snapping his fingers, like he was listening to music only he could hear.

She raised an eyebrow up at him. "What are you doing?"

The smile he gave her was ridiculous. "OK, this _might_ sound a little crazy, but you're just gonna have to trust me."

Julie laughed, curious about what her enthusiastic ghost friend had in mind. She spread her hands, gesturing for him to continue. "I always do."

"Alright..." Luke bit his lip and knelt on the floor beside her chair, shuffling her flash cards into a different order. Then he began to sing, earnestly, his warm voice filling the room as he weaved her dumb chemistry notes into a catchy melody that stuck in her head almost instantly.

The lyrics were absolutely terrible, rhyming words like "phosphorus" with cheesy phrases like "all of us". Julie laughed, and Luke laughed too, but he didn't stop singing. He tapped out a beat with his hands on the desk, and soon Julie found herself dancing along with him and trying to join in on the chorus. Just like she would have if they were out in the garage writing songs together.

"Oh yeah, you've _got_ this!" Luke said, letting her take over with her own absurd lyrics and gazing at her with admiration, as if he believed she could do anything if she set her mind to it. He picked up her pen and started scribbling on a spare sheet of paper, words flying out of him faster than he could write.

For a while they just sat there, rocking out together, and the more they wrote the more Julie had to admit it was starting to sound less silly and more like an actual song. More importantly, it contained all the information she was supposed to memorise for the chemistry test. There were still moments that had them both cackling with giddy laughter, but soon they had the whole song figured out, with a melody Julie was confident enough to harmonise to.

Luke sang the chorus one last time. "Burn bright as magnesium… we're aiming for platinum, oh, baby it's you and me… We've got…"

"Whoa, yeah we've got…" Julie sang, trying to keep her voice steady despite the laughter, leaning over to gaze deep into his eyes.

"You and me, we've got chemistry," they sang together, soft and true, and for a moment their voices seemed to combine in the most magical, amazing way. Then the spell broke, and Julie burst out in a fit of giggles.

"Oh my gosh, Luke, you are unbelievable."

"What? Come on, Julie, that was awesome." Her heart melted at the look on his face. How was he always so sincere about everything? Even when she was singing about something as stupid as _science homework_ , he made her feel like a superstar.

"OK, fine," she admitted, rolling her eyes and throwing up her hands. "It's pretty cool. _And_ it's a great way to remember things."

"Think you'll be able to ace the test now?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Maybe."

They really did make an amazing team. Working with Luke made anything seem possible. Julie felt inspired just being around him. And he was still looking at her like she was the most wonderful person in the world, sitting close enough that she could have maybe leaned over to kiss him, had he not been a ghost made of air.

But there were other ways to show him how much she appreciated him.

She stood up and started packing her books away. Luke got to his feet and handed the lyric sheet to her. She gazed down at his familiar, messy handwriting, feeling nothing but love. "Thank you, Luke."

"Don't mention it," he said, shyly.

She looked up at him, "So, since I've finished studying early, how about you show me that incredible new riff of yours?"

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

Luke’s smile seemed to light up the world.


End file.
